


Vanilla Milkshake

by br_kenglass



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Complete, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15434499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br_kenglass/pseuds/br_kenglass
Summary: Keith finds Lance sitting all alone while the others handle a diplomatic meeting with some of the coalition's leaders. At first, he assumes the Blue Paladin is simply ditching his responsibilities. But when the words that come out of his friend's mouth aren't his usual light and cheerful tone, Keith knows something is wrong. Can he help Lance fix his problems?





	Vanilla Milkshake

It was the usual. Have a meeting, make agreements, be diplomats.  _Damn, is there never anything fun to do here?_ The Red Paladin looked around the room and noticed the cause of his boredom.  _Wait a minute. Where's Lance?_ He took one more survey of the room before concluding that, yes, the Blue Paladin was absent from the meeting. Keith turned to his right to ask Hunk if he had seen their friend, but instead came face-to-face with one of the coalition's leaders. "And this one," the alien began, "he's part Galra is he not? How do we know that he is trustworthy?"

"Keith is one of our best fighters and would do anything to put an end to Zarkon," Shiro quickly defended.

"Mm, yes. He would probably do anything to put an end to anyone else who stood in his path. Not to mention that his temper is off the charts."

Holding back his words, Keith simply shot the leader a glare before pushing past the group and walking out the door. There was no reason for him to stay somewhere he wasn't wanted. It would only waste everyone's time. The farther he walked, the calmer he felt. Soon enough, he realized that the meeting hall was far behind him and that his surroundings was mostly forest and some fallen trees here and there. He huffed to himself, "Good. The quiet peace out here is way better than having to listen to some stuck-up nobodies trying to take control of a situation they can't handle. If they're so willing to replace me because I'm half Galra then I hope they have candidates to fly Red." Amidst his muttering, Keith nearly tripped on air at the sight in front of him.

Lance sat by his lonesome near the edge of a small cliff. The hillside rolled down steeply, leading on to more forested land. His helmet was off and his hair was slightly tousled, hunched over with his knees pulled close to his chest. The boy's head drooped low to rest his chin on his knees. Keith faced Lance's back, making it easy to silently stride over and plop down right next to his friend. "What's up?" His sudden appearance made the other jump a little, calming down after he recognized Keith. "Don't scare me like that man," he chuckled softly. "I could've punched you."

"Like you'd even have enough muscle in those noodle arms to knock me back."

"Funny," he rolled his eyes, smiling just a bit. His grin faded almost as soon as it came. "You're supposed to be at the meeting aren't you? What dragged you all the way out here?" Sparing a glance at Keith, he saw his teammate's nose scrunch up in disgust before shaking his head. "They were starting discourse over me being half Galra again, so I thought it'd be better if I left. Why be allies with someone who's the same blood as the threat, right?" Lance avoided looking into Keith's eyes, staring back at the horizon instead. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Keith spoke up again. "Is something bothering you? You weren't at the meeting when it started... Have you been here the entire time?"

"Congratulations, you noticed."

"Duh. You're... the only one who talks to me... a lot," he admitted. The Cuban boy couldn't help but turn to his friend with a look of disbelief. "That's not true. There's--"

"Go ahead. Try and name anyone who talks to me more than you do."

"There's... um..." He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to come up with anyone at all. But the statement held true. Keith only ever held long conversations with Lance, even if a good majority led to petty arguments or competitions to see who makes the best insults. "Guess I really am the only one... Anyways, the reason why I'm out here isn't important." He let go of his legs and let them stretch out in front of him, leaning back on his arms. Keith wasn't buying it, not again, he wanted to know why the usual ball of sunshine was acting so dim. One too many times has he let moments like this slip by. "I know you think I'm stupid, so it might be a big shock when I tell you I'm not. Your reason must be pretty important if it makes you ditch a meeting that Allura specifically told us not to miss."

Lance almost,  _almost_ , laughed at his words. But he couldn't find it within himself to bring out his upbeat attitude. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah," his tone seemed confused.  _Why is he asking? He's never had to get permission before, always giving me a pretty 'honest' opinion about my damn haircut._

"I miss Earth. A lot. And being stuck out here so far away from the beautiful blue oceans and the tiny grains of sand... away from the huge beaches and huge families that made me feel at home... Being out here is making me kinda homesick, Keith. I don't know if we'll ever make it back to Earth. And I never even got to say goodbye to my family..." Lance felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he avoided holding Keith's gaze. The other stretched his left leg out, propping up his right leg and resting his arm on it. "What are you talking about," he grinned. "There's beautiful blue oceans right here."

Lance snapped his head to the side and met up with Keith's eyes.

"The hell do you mean...? I don't see any around here."

"I do. I'm looking right at them," he whispered, smiling at Lance in a way that no one else got to see. This soft side of him was entirely reserved for Lance and only Lance. "Okay, that was pretty smooth, Mullet." And for once that day, Lance cracked a smile. "There's grains of sand right by the oceans too. All over the beautiful features right in front of me." Keith reached up and lightly poked each and every one of Lance's freckles. He earned himself a fit of giggles and a set of hands trying to playfully whack his away. "See? Right here, and here, and here, and--"

"Okay, okay! I get it, Cheesy McCheeseFace," he laughed, finally getting Keith to stop messing with his oh so glorious skin.

"Hey man." Again, their eyes met. "I know you sometimes feel like you aren't worth anything to the team, but that isn't true. You're the glue that keeps this family together. You keep everyone calm and collected when they have their own doubts. And the best part? No one tells you to do it. There's no rule that says you have to take care of us, but you do. And you do such a great job at it that I... I sometimes get jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah," Keith chuckled just a bit. He couldn't believe himself at the moment, opening up to Lance as if it were what he always did.  _But it is_ , he told himself,  _I always come to him when I need someone to talk to._ "Why would you be jealous of me?" Lance furrowed his brows at his partner, resulting in a scoff from the Red Paladin. "Because everyone loves you. Everyone acts like you're annoying or a pain in the ass, but they love you, Lance. You're irreplaceable to not just the team, but to our lives as well. I don't think I'd ever be able to fill the void you'd end up leaving in me if one day you just disappeared. You... You're wanted,  _needed_ even. But me?" The dark haired teen sighed and looked up at the sky of multiple soft colors, the sun sinking lower by the minute. "They need me for Voltron, but I bet if anyone else became another option for Red's pilot then I'd easily get booted. I'm not-- Voltron's-- The team--"

"Easy there, cowboy. Wouldn't wanna fry your brain. Thinking is a big job to ask of the tiny walnut you call a brain."

"You little--" He growled lowly, making Lance hold his arms up in fake surrender. They shared some more laughs before Keith continued. "Team Voltron is like a family, y'know? Coran's like everyone's uncle, Shiro's either the dad or another uncle, I guess Allura's some kind of... space mom? A pretty cool space mom. You, Hunk, and Pidge are like the team's kids-- in an endearing way --and me? I'm just... I'm just  _there_ , just existing."

A small moment of silence fell upon the two as they stared into each other's eyes. Lance continued the conversation, his curiosity aching to know the deeper and more intimate side of Keith. The part of him that he shielded from the outside world to protect himself from getting hurt. Sure, they'd talk about personal things, but something always held Keith back from being one hundred percent open. Maybe this was his chance to change the other's mind and assure him that he mattered more than he believed. "You're important to the team too, dumbass. You give me a reason to feel important, y'know? Like, who would I make fun of? There'd be no one to tell my pickup lines to, or say 'Calmeth thy tits' in the middle of an intense fight--"

"Space versions of Mario Kart aren't a real fi--"

"--I wouldn't have anyone to make 70's references to because of their haircut, I wouldn't have a constant source of entertainment because of your tiny cute screw ups here and there." Lance froze in place, jaw dropping in shock at his own words. Keith opened his mouth to make a snarky retort about Lance finding his screw ups adorable until the realization hit him.  _Wait... he finds my screw ups **cute**?_ The boy voiced his question to receive an answer, "You think they're cute? You think  _I'm_ cute?"

"Woah there, buddy, let's not make assumptions."

Keith pouted and crossed his arms, but before he could talk again he was interrupted by none other than Lance Charles McClain. "Kidding, kidding, kidding!! I find you down right  _adorable_ , Keith." The Red Paladin's face contorted into one of confusion and somewhat disbelief. "I'd take it as a compliment, but there's really no other word you could pick? 'Adorable' doesn't exactly fit most people's typical description of me."

"Neither does being straight or being a vicious, blood-thirsty monster. Yet here we are."

"Yeah, you're right-- wait how did you know I'm gay? And what makes you assume that I'm into guys?"

"Pidge keeps a diary-journal thing or whatever about all of us. One book per teammate. Shiro's is labelled  **Back From the Dead, Wish I Wasn't** , Hunk's is  **Space Gordon Ramsay** , Coran's is  **The Galactic Steve Irwin** , Princess Allura's is  **God is a Woman** to which I believe we can  _all_ agree, and yours is  **Gay Disaster**. Oh, and mine is  **Baby Bi, Bi, Bi** so I'm guessing Pidge found out my sexuality before I even realized I was in the closet."

"Considering you had enough brains to get past Pidge's security  _and_ find where she hid them, I'm honestly stunned at the fact that I have the gayest 'heart eyes motherfucker' look for you and it took you a bunch of snooping in order to realize my sexuality."

Lance couldn't help but snort and chuckle at his friend's joke. He opened his eyes just in time to see Keith roll his. "Now that I've got you smiling and laughing again, I guess your homesickness is gone for at least the rest of the night." The tan beauty simply grinned warmly and nodded, crossing his legs and sitting upright. "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"What do you miss from Earth, if anything at all."

He thought about it for a moment before giving his answer. Keith's eyes shined brightly with passion as he told Lance what he found to be important in his life back on Earth. "Vanilla milkshakes." At that, Lance choked on air. "Milkshakes. In the desert. The really, really hot and dusty desert in the middle of nowhere. Where did you even get your hands on milkshakes?" The lack of a response gave him a sign that the topic was actually rather serious and personal for someone like Keith. So, instead of poking more fun at him, Lance decided to find out more about the strange boy and his strange choices. "Why?"

Keith felt his words get caught in his throat. He felt his brain slowly start to malfunction and his stomach dropped.

"Because..." he began, "my... my dad always took me out to get milkshakes whenever he was off on the weekends. Being a firefighter was hard work, and he used to only get milkshakes every now and then, but then he met my mom and..." It took him all he had to keep the tears from rising to his eyes. "He said she never had a milkshake before, so he took her to get some. Vanilla was her favorite flavor. She used to describe it as plain and simple, but still just as good as any of the other flavors," he smiled a little nearing the end. Lance's gaze softened and his chest felt warm. Seeing Keith looking so passive and getting to hear about his past was a really big deal to him. It meant that they were growing closer, and he was more than glad. Keith carried on with his explanation even though he didn't need to throw in details. "They went out for milkshakes every weekend since that day, it was like their thing. And then... th-then... something happened and she left... He never had a single one until I was around three or four, maybe. I'm lactose intolerant, but drinking those vanilla milkshakes at the diner in the town down by the border was the best feeling ever. I felt at home. I felt so much closer to my dad-- even to my mom --because of how he'd open up more and more each time we went. Things he'd never say, things I never knew, things I never saw..."

"Is vanilla your favorite flavor too? Did you know it was your mom's favorite?"

"Yeah, I love vanilla. I didn't know it was her favorite until my dad told me."

"That's a pretty sweet story, Keith. No pun intended." The other simply huffed out a soft laugh through his nose, not bothering to fight the way he relaxed under Lance's eyes. He felt safe. Protected. Like it was okay to show the parts of him that no one else knew. An idea popped into Lance's head, leading him to stand on his feet and pull Keith up gently. "You and me, buddy, we're gonna go whip ourselves up some milkshakes from Kaltenecker. I'll even let you put a shit ton of whipped cream on yours without me freaking out over you getting diabetes."

"Aww, how sweet," he teased, "you're concerned over my small intake of sugar and the like."

"Hey, you never know when bad habits can grow."

"Thank you, Lance."

"No," the Blue Paladin said, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Thank  _you_ for seeing past what I put up. Thank you for helping me feel happy again. Thank you for being you."

With that, the two boys walked back towards the castle. The other members of Team Voltron saw two teens enjoying simple milkshakes, but the red and blue duo saw two people enjoying the company.

 

* * *

_approx. 10 years later..._

 

"Papá, can I have another cookie pleaaaase?"

A sigh came from the tall man standing by the kitchen counter, trying to cook the large dinner being provided for the team's visit. "Keith, tell your son why he can't have  _another_  cookie."

"You heard your Papá, Milano. You already had two," said a voice from the garage. The small boy crossed his arms and stomped his small foot on the kitchen tiles. "But I want another one! Just one, please?"

"Milano," Lance chided, "Daddy already said no, I already said no, and anyone else you ask is going to say no. Dinner's going to be ready soon and I don't want you going crazy-hyper while everyone's trying to eat." Just in time, Keith stepped out of the garage with a few boxes in his arms. He set them down in the living room and walked over to the kitchen, swooping up Milano and nuzzling their noses together. The child giggled and clung onto his father like a koala. "You can have more cookies later with your sister if you're still hungry. Behave for now and I might even throw in an extra hour of playtime before bed." At the mention of food, Bella poked her head in through the doorway leading to the backyard where she played with Kosmo. "Cookies? I can have cookies now, Daddy?"

"No, later."

Milano huffed again as Keith set him down, "You and Papá always say no to us during the day, but sometimes when I can't sleep at night I hear you two always saying yes to each other from your room. No fair, adults can be so mean!"

Needless to say, both former Paladins took it easier the next time they felt like getting it on while the kids were supposedly asleep.


End file.
